Most construction machines while travelling downhill experience brake overheating while controlling the speed of the machine by resisting gravitational force. As a result of overheating of the brakes, the operator may have to pull over the machine to allow the brakes to cool down before reaching a desired destination. This results in a loss of productivity due to the time allowed for cooling of the overheated brakes.
The speed at which the machine is running downhill and the extent of brake usage and heating are interrelated factors. In order to allow the machine to run relatively fast downhill, heat accumulated within the brakes needs to be dissipated quickly. On the other hand, when operated slowly downhill, heat dissipation of the brakes may be stretched over a period of time. Typically, there exists a direct relationship between the downhill speed of the machine and the amount of heat accumulation within the brakes. However, although the machine's brakes may never overheat when operated too slowly, machine productivity may also be reduced to undesirable levels.
For example, U.S. Published Application Number 2003/0110849 discloses a method for monitoring the temperature of a friction brake to prevent overheating of the brake. The vehicle speed and brake activation time are monitored for braking event conditions known to add heat to the brake or brakes, and the frequency or rate of occurrence of these conditions is monitored. When the frequency of brake event conditions approaches a threshold value known to be approaching an over-temperature condition, the speed of the vehicle is limited in order to limit the amount of kinetic energy which can be absorbed by the brakes, thereby preventing the brakes from overheating.